RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR CATALONIA (RDP), 2007-2013

Catalonia is a European country in the northern Mediterranean, constituted as an autonomous community in Spain. It is situated on the north east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, bordered to the north by Andorra and France, to the west by the autonomous community of Valencia, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the east.

With an estimated 7,504,881 inhabitants in the year 2010, it is the second most populated autonomous community, in an approximate area of 32,000 km2. Catalonia has a very diverse geography, taking into account the relatively small size of the territory. This geography is conditioned by some 580 km of  Mediterranean coastline and the great reliefs of the Pyrenees Mountains in the North.

62% of the Catalonian territory is rural, being inhabited by 10% of the population. These figures show the importance of having a Rural Development Programme (RDP) for Catalonia, which, for the period 2007-2013, is structured around three axis and a fourth axis of methodology.

The Rural Development Programme for Catalonia 2007-2013, with a programmed  budget of 980,535,205 €. Is made up as follows:

• Axis 1: Increase the competitivity of agricultural and forestry sectors.
• Axis 2: Improve the environment and rural countryside.
• Axis 3: Quality of life in the rural areas and diversification of the rural economy.
• Axis 4: Implementation of the Leader approach.

 (on 17th October 2012, the Rural Development Committee approves the proposed financial amendment for the RDP)

Implementation of the Leader approach

The Leader approach is designed to give support to rural stakeholders to improve the potential of their territory and promote the use of integrated strategies and of quality for sustainable development in rural areas. For the period 2007-2013, Leader begins the fourth generation, after the implementation of Leader II and Leader +, and the experience of the PRODER programme, and has now been included in the Rural Development Programme (RDP) along with the rest of the axis of the RDP.

With the objective of developing the new Leader, the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment (DAAM), has designed a strategy to give added value and management tools which will permit a step forward in the development of rural territories in Catalonia. The main characteristics of the strategy are:

• As a general rule, to maintain the area and population where the methodology is implemented and and considerably reduce LAG's which manage them.
• Increase the critical mass of beneficiaries.
• Selection of the most adequate projects for the development of the territory.
• The availability of powerful and structured technical teams dedicated exclusively to the programme to be developed.
• Boosting of the territory and cooperation projects.
• Fomenting of inter-territorial and transnational cooperation amongst LAGs with the objective of creating strong projects which act as elements to boost the territorial and economy.
• Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Leader approach, bringing innovation and added value to the programme through the implementation of the sustainable management code which will be specifically by giving advice and actions of an economic,  environmental and social responsibility nature to the beneficiary companies of the Leader project.

The criteria which has been used for defining Leader zones are the following:

• Population density is considered particularly appropriate in measuring the problem of rural municipalities. It should be taken into account that, as a general rule, the population covered by each LAG is between 20,000 and 60,000 inhabitants.
• The age range of the inhabitants. In this the sense the quotient between the population of 65 years or more and the total population (%).
• The distribution of jobs in the largest sectors has also been used.
• To understand the dynamics of the work market, the evolution of non-agricultural based jobs on a municipal level have been taken into consideration.
• The evolution of the population of the municipalities has been considered as data which illustrates the dynamism of the territory.
• The percentage of males of working age in the population has been included as an indicator of demographic fragility and the dependence on agriculture.

A total of 13 Local Action Groups (LAG) with their respective local strategies, which represent 66% of the territory of Catalonia, with 8% of the total population, 51.8% of Catalonian municipalities and an average density of 27 inhabitants per square kilometre in the Leader zone, have been selected for the implementation of the Leader approach. The 13 local strategies are based fundamentally on measures directed at the development of the economy and quality of life in rural zones, and incorporate, as an added value and innovation in the Leader programme, implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility through the application of a code of sustainable management concretely in assessment and actions of an economic, environmental and social responsibility nature in the beneficiary companies receiving help from the Leader programme.

More information (in Catalan)